A 48-year-old Orange County woman is in critical condition after she was injured in a motorcycle accident in Buena Park on December 30, 2008. According to this news report in The Orange County Register, the woman, who has not been identified, was traveling south on Artesia Boulevard when she lost control of her motorcycle and crashed into the median. The female motorcyclist was wearing a helmet, but suffered severe injuries in this accident.
I’m extremely relieved that this motorcycle accident victim did not suffer fatal injuries in this crash. The newspaper report calls it a “near-fatal” accident. I wish this critically injured victim the very best for a quick and complete recovery.
According to the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System (SWITRS), in Buena Park, there were no motorcycle accident related fatalities in 2006, but 32 injuries relating to motorcycle accidents. In Orange County as a whole, 26 deaths and 730 injuries were reported that year as a result of motorcycle accidents.
There could be many reasons why this Buena Park motorcycle accident occurred. It doesn’t appear based on the newspaper report that this motorcyclist was speeding or driving recklessly. She was wearing safety gear including a helmet. If I were a member of her family, I would want to know if there were other factors that caused this near-fatal accident. Was there a dangerous condition on the roadway that caused her to lose control of her motorcycle? Was there a mechanical malfunction? Was there an inherent product defect in the motorcycle that triggered a mechanical malfunction?
If a dangerous roadway was responsible for this crash then the city or governmental agency responsible for maintaining that roadway could be held liable. If the accident occurred because of product defect, then the auto product manufacturer could be held liable for the accident and resulting injuries. The injured victim and her family would be well-advised to contact a reputed Orange County motorcycle accident attorney who will determine the facts of this case and hold the negligent parties accountable.